Banks City F.C.
Gary Baxter | coach = | currentleague = League A | currentposition = | lastseason = | lastleague = League A | lastposition = 7th | current = | website = | firstgame = | largestwin = | worstdefeat = | topscorer = | fansgroup = | honours = | American = }} :"Banks City" redirects here. For the city nicknamed the Banks City, see Stanhope. Banks City Football Club is a professional football club based in Stanhope, St. Gregory. The team plays in League A, the highest tier of the St. Gregory Football Association. City were a founding member of League C in 1990. The club's name comes from the nickname of their home city, for being situated on the banks of the North River. Although the club have never won League A, they finished as runners-up in 1999-2000 and have appeared in the final of the SGFA Cup three times, winning it twice: in 1996 and 2012. They have also appeared in the SGFA Shield match on three occasions, but lost all three. The team play their home matches at the 16,000-seat Harrier Stadium. History In 1989, the SGFA announced plans to expand to three professional leagues the following year, and that they would receive bids from various amateur and start-up clubs to be the foundation of the new League C, accepting six of them. A consortium called Banks City P.C. Football was established to be one of these bids. The name came from Banks City Presbyterian Church, who headed the consortium and who had previously operated amateur club teams at youth and senior level. On December 8, 1989, the SGFA announced that Banks City was one of the successful bids. The club officially registered the name Banks City Football Club in January 1990, becoming the first professional sports team in the city of Stanhope. City began play in League C in the 1990-91 season and enjoyed a meteoric rise through the ranks over the next five years, earning promotion to League B in 1991-92 and then to League A following the 1994-95 season. The following year they won the SGFA Cup, the club's first trophy, defeating League A champions FC Chapman in the final. The team enjoyed their best season in League A in 1999-2000 when they were top of the table for much of the season, only to go on a winless streak near the end of the season and lose the title to Bonneville United by 4 points. City suffered their first ever relegation from any competition at the end of 2013-14 when they finished 15th in League A, one point behind Winston Beach as both teams won their final match of the season. However, they bounced right back, finishing the 2014-15 season as champions of League B and reaching the 2015 SGFA Cup Final where they were defeated by FC Chapman in extra time. Colors, crest and nickname The team is known to fans simply as City and officially nicknamed the Harriers, as a harrier bird is featured on the club crest. The crest also features images representing the North River, as well as the star of Bethlehem, reflecting the club's Christian foundation. 'Kits' The home kit has traditionally featured white and silver vertical stripes with cobalt blue shorts and trim; however, as of the 2014-15 season, silver has become a trim color and the shorts have switched to white. Cobalt serves as the base for the away kit. Banks City's uniforms are currently supplied by adidas, who have been suppliers to the club since 1998, the longest continuous kit deal in Gregorian professional football. The shirt sponsor is Mercy Hospital Stanhope. Previously, Heineken were shirt sponsors for 15 years from 1999-2014 and also held a naming rights sponsorship for Harrier Stadium (where it was called Heineken Stadium) from 2004-2014. Support Being based in Stanhope, one of St. Gregory's larger communities, has allowed City to build a sizable fan following. The club operates the Banks City Presbyterian Church Youth League (PCYL), an under-18 league network for boys and girls in Stanhope, from which they and other clubs scout future talent, which also increases their prominence in the community. Rivalries :See also: River derby and Banks City F.C.-Bonneville United F.C. rivalry City contest the River derby with Little Rouge, based just 20 miles away in Macon. During City's run of successful finishes in the late 1990s and early 2000s, they developed a rivalry with Bonneville United, which reached boiling point when United pipped City for the League A title in 1999-2000. Mark Chandler, who played for both clubs, said of City fans' views on United: "Nobody likes United, but for City fans it's something else ... it's cultural, it's nationalistic, it's the fact that they win a lot, it's everything the club stands for ... they just don't like 'em." The club also has a close geographical rival in Otway Town. Players Current squad : As of July 12, 2017 Note: Players without a flag are from St. Gregory. Players with an asterisk (*) are from outside the United States or its territories, or have represented a non-U.S. territory at international level, but hold either citizenship or permanent residency in the U.S. and thus do not count towards the league cap on foreign players. Out on loan Former players :Further information: Category:Banks City F.C. players Honors * League B: 1 :2014-15 * League C: 1 :1991-92 * SGFA Cup: 2 :1995-96, 2011-12 Category:Banks City F.C. Category:Club pages